


The Quiet of the Storm

by youofsomesong



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Black Friday AU, Deaf Character, Deaf Ethan Green, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Ethan Green, One Shot Collection, Other, Peter is hot chocolate boy, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, trans Hot Chocolate Boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youofsomesong/pseuds/youofsomesong
Summary: Black Friday one shots of Deaf Ethan GreenCross posted on Wattpad and ffn
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Hot Chocolate Boy & Ethan Green, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 1
Kudos: 60





	1. Prologue

Ethan Green was 3 months old when their parents, Beck Green and Mason Davidson, realized something about their kid. Ethan wasn’t showing some of the signs Peter, Ethan’s older brother, had when he was younger–they didn’t react to loud noises, they didn’t react to their parents arguing or Peter’s crying.

Mason and Beck have been arguing since Beck was pregnant with Ethan. When Beck was two months pregnant, the couple broke up. They got back together only a month ago for their children's sake.

The night before their parents were going to take Ethan to the doctors, the family of four were sitting at the dining room table listening to music when Mason’s record player cut off with a loud screech. Peter, 1 at the time, started crying loudly as Mason quickly turned off the music and Beck went to calm down her kids, only to find out that it was only Peter crying. Beck looks at Mason worriedly as she calms down Peter “Mason…”

Mason looks back at her before looking at Ethan, who is sucking on their fingers happily “I know…”

The next day Ethan’s parents brought them to the doctor only to come back home with the knowledge of Ethan being 98% deaf. As Beck and Mason were bringing Ethan back home, they both had the same thought running through their minds: ‘We need to learn ways to communicate with Ethan.’

As Ethan grew up, their family learned sign language to talk to them. When Ethan was 1, their parents got married. At age 7, they were diagnosed with dyslexia. When Peter was 9, Ethan was 8, Peter came out saying he was a he and not a she. Ethan hugged Peter tightly before slurring and signing “‘You my brother...a’ways have been.’” Peter broke down crying and hugged Ethan again tightly. Their parents were as accepting as Ethan was about Peter.

When Ethan was 10, they came out as nonbinary. Just like with Peter, their parents were accepting of them.

At age 12, when Ethan was in the 6th grade, a girl named Lex Foster came over to their house for a dinner party Mason was holding. Lex’s dad, Ted Foster, was one of Mason’s employees–along with Paul Mathews and Bill Johnson–who brought her and her little sister, Hannah–8 at the time–with him. Ted left Hannah and Lex with Peter and Ethan. Ethan and Lex knew of each other through school but they never really talked until the dinner party. Since Peter was the only one to know sign language, he interpreted everything for the girls and his younger sibling. The day after the dinner party, The girls begged their dad to teach them sign language.

Two years later, when Ethan was 14 and Lex was 13, Lex walked up to Ethan in the hallway of their school and kissed him before signing ‘do you want to go on a date with me?’ Ethan smiled and nodded before kissing her again.

Later that night, Ethan confessed that the only reason they didn’t ask Lex out was because they were nervous about how a deaf and hearing relationship would work. Lex turns to them and signed ‘we will figure that out. Don’t worry babe.’ Ethan smiled when Lex called them babe and kissed them.

A year later, Ethan and Lex were in Ethan’s room. Ethan was playing their guitar while Lex was sitting behind them, listening to them play with a smile. Lex hugs Ethan from behind and presses the sign ‘I love you’ into their chest, it’s how the couple has said it since they started dating. 

Ethan sighs softly before putting their guitar down and turning to Lex, slurring and signing “‘I love you too.’” Lex gasps and hugs them tightly. Ever since then, Ethan will not only speak to their brother and parents, but to Lex as well.


	2. Sick Ethan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan gets sick and is too stubborn to admit it

Ethan wakes up to their alarm vibrating under their pillow. They groan and turn off their alarm, turning the other way to sleep some more. A few moments later their lights flash on and off a few times. Ethan covers their eyes before slowly looking up once the lights stop flashing and sees Peter signing ‘time to get ready for school.’

Ethan groans again and signs ‘I’m up. Get out.’

Peter laughs ‘I’m leaving. I’m leaving.’

As soon as Peter leaves Ethan slowly gets up and starts getting ready for school. They finish getting ready by grabbing their leather jacket, leaving their hearing aids on the table next to their bed.

Ethan walks downstairs to see their mom and Peter eating breakfast. Their dad had already left for work. ‘Morning,’ Ethan signs tiredly.

“‘Morning sweetie,’” Beck responds, signing as she speaks. “‘You ready for school? Got your hearing aids?’”

Ethan shakes their head as they sit down at the table ‘why do I even need to wear them? They don’t help. And they hurt.’

“‘If you don’t want to wear them you don’t have to,’” Peter tells Ethan, starting to speak while signing.

Beck nods in agreement before asking “‘breakfast? I made eggs.’”

Ethan shakes their head again, slurring “‘not hungry.’” Beck nods again and goes back to eating her breakfast as Peter puts his plate in the sink.

“‘Want a ride?’” Peter asks. Ethan looks like they’re about to refuse before Peter adds “‘we can get Lex and Hannah.’”

Ethan nods, mumbling and signing an okay.

Peter smiles and leads the way to his car, shouting “bye mom!”

Ethan waves to Beck and follows Peter, getting in the car after their brother.

Peter scratches at a spot on his back before starting the car as Ethan pulls out their phone and texts Lex we’re on our way.

We? Lex asks.

Peter’s giving me a ride Ethan responds. They put their phone away after getting a thumbs up from Lex.

“‘Which house is she at?’” Peter asks.

‘Dads,’ Ethan responds, unknowingly saying the s out loud as though they were hissing. Ethan lays their head on the window, looking outside as Peter starts driving.

Peter taps Ethan’s arm at a red light to get their attention. Ethan looks up as Peter signs “‘you okay?’”

Ethan nods and signs ‘just tired. Didn’t sleep well.’ Peter nods before driving again once the light turns green. Ethan goes back to looking out the window until they get to Lex’s house. Ethan pulls out their phone and texts Lex we’re here.

Lex comes out a few moments later, her sister Hannah following. The girls get in the car before Lex leans over the seat to give Ethan a kiss on their cheek, frowning slightly when she notices something. Ethan smiles at her, humming happily, and waves to Hannah. Hannah waves back as Lex says and signs “‘hey.’”

“‘Hey,’” Peter responds, also signing. He pulls out of the driveway once he sees the girls are in their seats.

Once Peter starts driving to Hannah’s school, Ethan lays their head on the window again. Lex looks at her partner worriedly and asks Peter “is Ethan okay?”

“They said they didn’t sleep well last night but I think there might be something more,” Peter responds, looking at Lex through the mirror quickly.

Lex looks at Peter saying “they felt a little warm when I kissed their cheek.”

Peter frowns, “how warm?”

“Warm enough that I don’t want them going to school,” Lex replies.

Peter sighs and looks at Lex through the mirror at a red light, “E won’t let us take them home. They’re stubborn and you know that.”

“Yeah…” Lex agrees. “Still doesn’t mean I’m not happy with them going to school like this.”

Peter nods as the light turns green. He starts driving as he changes the subject “Hey Banana.” Hannah looks at Ethan worriedly before looking at Peter and waving. “Is today a good day or a bad day?”

“Bad day,” Hannah mumbles, playing with her hands. Peter nods and doesn’t say anything else, not wanting to push Hannah to talk–which Hannah appreciates.

Once they arrive at Hannah’s school, Ethan turns around and signs ‘have fun at school banana.’ They unknowingly make a few noises as they mouth what they sign. Hannah smiles softly at them and waves at her sister and Peter before getting out of the car.

As soon as Hannah starts walking into the school, Peter turns to Ethan and asks them “‘okay E, you okay?’”

‘I’m fine,’ Ethan signs. ‘I already said I didn’t sleep well. Why do you think something is wrong?’

“‘Cause you’re unusually quiet, babe’” Lex says to her partner, opting not to say that they felt warm, before telling Peter “we’re gonna be late if we don’t leave now.”

Ethan rolls their eyes ‘I can be quiet if I want to be.’

“‘Screw being late,’” Peter says. “‘I wanna make sure E’s okay first.’” He stops signing and turns to Lex, making sure Ethan can’t read his lips “I want them to know that they’re more important than school. Maybe then they’ll admit to being sick.”

Peter turns back to Ethan as they slur harshly “‘‘M fine!’” Ethan’s voice starts trailing off as they say to leave it alone, the only noise they make is the v, dragging it out like they did with the s earlier that morning.

Lex and Peter look at each other and sigh, leaving it alone. Peter pulls out of the parking lot of the middle school and heads toward the high school, worrying over his little sibling. He knows that eventually Ethan will tell him–he just doesn’t know if that will be before or after Ethan gets worse.

Lex sits quietly in the back of the car worrying over her partner. Like Peter, she knows that once Ethan is ready to talk, they would. But they’re her partner and she just worries about them. Ethan has done this before, once or twice, where they get sick and don't tell anyone. The last time they didn’t tell anyone that they were sick, they claimed that their ears started ringing before fainting. They woke up an hour later, ears still ringing and a high fever. It turned out they had a normal cold mixed with a lack of sleep that time. Luckily, that was a day that there was no school so they didn’t faint during a class.

Ethan keeps their head on the window as Peter drives them all to school. This morning when Peter woke them up, they didn’t feel the greatest but they don’t want to admit to being sick so they’re just going to ignore it and try to get through the day so the weekend can come faster.

Once the trio gets to school, Ethan waves to Peter before all of them get out of the car. They hold out their hand out for Lex, who takes it with a smile. Peter smiles at the couple before heading over to his best friend Alice and her girlfriend Deb.

Lex leads Ethan inside the school, smiling. Ethan follows her before coughing harshly. Lex looks at her partner worriedly and rubs their arm. Ethan stops coughing after a bit and signs ‘sorry.’

“‘Don’t apologize babe,’” Lex responds. “‘Are you sure you’re okay?’”

Ethan nods and signs ‘I’m fine, Lex.’

Lex doesn’t look like she believes them but sighs, “‘let’s get to homeroom.’” Ethan nods and leads her to their homeroom.

The first half of the day was spent with Lex translating for Ethan and being worried about them as they get worse, who was still being stubborn and ignoring how they feel. At lunch, Ethan and Lex were outside of the school near the smoke club kids, Danny and Sophie–and in extension Alice and Peter–as Lex smoked a cigarette. Ethan starts coughing harshly, even worse than they were coughing this morning. Lex looks up worriedly and puts out her cigarette, moving more toward them and rubbing their arm.

Peter hears the coughing from farther down the field where all of them were at and looks at his younger sibling worriedly. Alice looks at Peter, knowing he’s worried about Ethan. “Go check on them,” Alice says softly. Peter sighs and looks at Alice before looking at Danny and Sophie and looks back to Alice. Alice looks behind her at the two smoking with her girlfriend “Just because they don’t know doesn’t mean you can’t check up on your sibling.”

Peter sighs again and stands up as Danny asks “Hey where you goin’ Pete?”

“The smoke’s getting to me,” Peter answers, telling a half truth.

“Ahhh, okay,” Danny says, going back to talking to Sophie and smoking.

No one in the school–aside from Lex, Alice, Deb, and the teachers–knows that Peter and Ethan are siblings. Because their parents broke up around the time Maddie was pregnant with Ethan, Ethan took her last name while Peter took their dad, Mason’s, last name–Davidson.

Peter walks over to Ethan and Lex, Ethan finally calming down from their coughing fit. “‘Hey,’” Peter says, sitting next to the two on the ground. Ethan waves and groans, putting their head on Lex’s shoulder. “‘You okay E?’” Peter asks.

Ethan stays quiet for a few moments before finally shaking their head. ‘Feel sick. Have been all morning,’ they admit.

Peter sighs and stands up “‘let’s get you to the nurse bubba.’” Ethan nods and slowly gets up, swaying a bit. Lex quickly grabs them and helps to steady themself. She looks at Peter worriedly as Ethan lays their head on her shoulder again. “At least they didn’t faint like last time,” Peter tells Lex as he starts leading the duo to the nurse.

“Yeah…” Lex says softly, following her partner's brother. When the trio gets to the nurse, Peter quickly explains that Ethan hasn’t been feeling well with Lex adding in that Ethan has had multiple coughing fits today and they almost fainted on the way there. The nurse takes Ethan’s temperature to see that they have a 101ºF fever. Lex looks at Peter and mumbles “you should call your mom.”

Ethan gets led to a bed by the nurse as Peter nods “yeah, I will. I think she’s at work though.”

The bell rings and the nurse turns to the two, saying “you two get to class, I’ll take care of Ethan until someone can pick them up.”

Lex looks like she’s about to argue before Peter says “go to class, Lex. I’ll make sure E is okay.” Lex sighs and nods, running a hand through Ethans hair–who hummed softly with their eyes closed–before leaving the room and heading to class.

“You too Mr. Davidson,” the nurse says.

“I still gotta call one of my parents,” Peter tells her. The nurse sighs and nods before Peter tries calling his parents. When calling his mom, Beck said that as much as she wanted to pick Ethan up, she was swamped with work, having to cover a coworkers shift along with doing her own shift. When trying to call his dad...well he couldn’t even reach his dad so he guesses CCRP must be really busy. Peter sighs and tells that to the nurse before getting a text from his mom If your dad doesn’t pick up you can bring Ethan home. “My mom said that I can bring E home...if that’s okay with you.”

The nurse nods and says “as long as your parents are okay with that and tell the school you’re leaving as well then I see no problem with you taking Ethan home.”

Peter nods and texts his mom saying that she needs to call the school so he can bring Ethan home. She replies with an okay and a few minutes later he’s allowed to leave with Ethan. He walks over to Ethan, rubbing their back gently. Ethan groans and slowly opens their eyes before Peter signs ‘let’s go home, yeah?’ Ethan nods before clutching their head in pain. Peter stands up and slowly helps Ethan up. Ethan almost immediately leans on their brother as Peter walks to his car. Ethan whimpers softly as they get in the car and leans their head on the window, just like they did this morning. Peter rubs Ethan’s arm and starts driving home.

Once they get home, Peter gets Ethan out of the car and onto the couch before he texts Lex saying he brought Ethan home and he’s gonna stay with them. He adds that if Lex needs a ride, he can quickly pick her and Hannah up but he doesn’t want to leave Ethan alone for long. Lex responds with an okay.

Ethan starts coughing harshly again as Peter puts his phone away. Peter quickly heads to the kitchen and gets a glass of water before sitting next to Ethan and rubbing their arm. When Ethan’s coughing subsides, they take a small sip of their water before squeaking out “Pe’er….”

“‘I’m here,’” Peter tells them. Ethan curls up next to their brother and whimpers again. Peter rubs their back as Ethan starts falling asleep. A few minutes later, Peter also falls asleep after laying down.

A few hours later, Peter wakes up to the doorbell ringing. He carefully gets up, making sure to not wake up Ethan, and heads to the door, opening it to see Lex and Hannah. “Hey,” He says, yawning and letting them in. “E’s asleep right now.”

“We just wanted to see how they’re doing,” Lex tells him.

“They had a coughing fit right when we got home but they’ve been asleep since,” Peter informs.

Hannah goes over to the sleeping Ethan quietly as Lex and Peter keep talking. Ethan groans as they start waking up. “Ethan!” Hannah says, causing Lex and Peter to go over to them quickly.

“What’s wrong banana?” Lex asks.

Ethan groans again and slowly opens their eyes to see three bodies next to them. They whimper softly and Peter looks at the girls “I think we’re crowding them.” He turns to Hannah and says “Let’s go grab some food, banana.” Hannah quietly grabs Peters hand and after shooting a quick glance at Ethan, lets Peter bring her to the kitchen, leaving the couple alone.

“‘Hey babe,’” Lex says softly, sitting next to Ethan. Ethan curls up into her side, mumbling unintelligibly. Lex plays with their hair, staying quiet. She presses the ‘I love you’ sign–which is only her thumb, pointer finger, and pinky–into their arm, to which they slowly sign it back the longer way–pointing to themself, then crossing their wrists over their chest, then pointing to Lex. Lex keeps playing with Ethan’s hair while their breathing evens out as they start falling asleep again just as Peter and Hannah come back in with a few poptarts.

“They asleep again?” Peter asks, seeing the couple cuddling.

“Yeah,” Lex nods before looking at her phone. “Okay banana, dads are here.” Hannah frowns but walks over to her sister as Lex carefully gets up and grabs Hannah’s hand. “We’ll come by again sometime this weekend to check on them again.” It was a Friday so they only had to wait one night before coming back to check on Lex’s partner.

“Okay,” Peter says, walking the girls to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye Peter,” Lex says as Hannah waves.

Over the next week, Ethan stayed home with what their family realized was the flu. Peter had to go to school after the weekend but Beck and Mason took turns staying home taking care of Ethan, who was mainly sleeping. By Thursday, Ethan was back to walking around but still wasn’t in the shape to go back to school. Lex came over everyday to check on her partner, sometimes bringing Hannah with her when Hannah was having a good day.

The Monday after the week Ethan was sick soon arrives and Ethan walks into the school, stuffing their keys to their old jalopy into their pocket, when they see Lex. They smile as they walk over to her. “‘Ethan!’” Lex says happily, a big smile on her face.

‘Hey,’ Ethan replies, kissing her cheek.

“‘I’m glad you’re feeling better,’” Lex tells them.

Ethan closes their hand, leaving their pinky and thumb out, and moving their hand back and forth between the two of them to say ‘me too.’

The bell rings and Lex sighs “‘time for homeroom” Ethan smiles and takes Lex’s hand, leading her to their homeroom to start the day.


	3. Black Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lex is working at Toy Zone when people start going crazy over this new doll, Wiggly.

Ethan wakes up with their phone buzzing on the table next to their bed. They rub their eyes before grabbing their phone seeing that Lex is facetiming them. They answer with a small smile.

“‘Hey babe,’” Lex smiles back. “‘Did you just wake up?’”

Ethan nods, yawning and running their hand through their hair ‘yeah. But it’s okay though.’

Lex nods and says teasingly “‘you look really cute with your hair like that.’” Ethan blushes and flips her off, trying to fix their hair. Lex laughs “‘sorry love.’”

Ethan’s still bright red as they ask ‘so what’s up?’

Lex stops laughing as she explains “‘I need to leave early this morning for work to prepare for that new doll and I don’t want to wake up Hannah. Are you by any chance able to pick her up from the trailer?’”

Ethan nods ‘yeah. I’ll head over there soon.’

“‘Thanks babe!’” Lex says with a smile before she looks behind her. She turns back to the screen and sighs, “‘I gotta go. Love you.’”

Ethan does the sign for ‘I love you’ before hanging up and getting out of bed. They head to the bathroom, only wearing sweatpants, and comes across Peter leaving the bathroom. “‘Hey Pe’er,’” Ethan slurs.

“‘Hey bubba,’” Peter replies with a smile. He lets his sibling pass as Ethan heads inside the bathroom, trying to fix their hair. “‘You going somewhere?’” Peter asks through the mirror.

‘I’m picking Hannah,’ Ethan signs. ‘Are mom and dad here?’ They finally get their hair the way they want it to be and starts brushing their teeth, looking at Peter through the mirror.

“‘I think mom went to the mall with Aunt Charlotte,’” Peter answers. “‘Dad is still here. Uncle Bill is coming over with Alice.’”

Ethan nods and finishes brushing their teeth, heading back to their room with Peter following. Ethan grabs a pair of jeans, a shirt, their leather jacket, one glove, and their boots before shooing Peter out of their room. Peter laughs and heads to his own room as Ethan changes.

Ethan leaves their room once they’re ready for the day, hearing aids with them for once. They head to Peter’s room and walks in once they see his door is open. Peter looks up and waves “‘You heading out?’”

Ethan nods and signs ‘I’ll be back later tonight. Gonna try to sell the doll.’

Peter sighs and shuts his door signing ‘I really don’t want you to leave. Lex and Hannah are more than welcome to stay here, you know that.’

‘I know,’ Ethan responds. ‘But I promised them California. They deserve to get out of this town.’

Peter sighs again and nods before hugging Ethan. ‘Be safe out there,’ he signs. ‘It is Black Friday after all.’

Ethan smiles and nods, mumbling “‘I know.’” They turn to leave Peter’s room before Peter grabs their shoulder. They look back at him and sign ‘yeah?’

Peter quickly grabs a hat from his desk and says ‘“take it.’”

‘A hat?’ Ethan questions.

“‘So you know to stay safe. Dad gave it to me when I came out to keep me safe from getting beat up. I don’t want you getting hurt on Black Friday,’” Peter explains.

Ethan smiles and takes the hat ‘thanks Peter.’

“‘You’re welcome E,’” Peter smiles back. “‘Now go get Hannah.’”

Ethan nods and leaves their brothers room. They head downstairs and waves to their dad–who is in the living room working–signing that they are going out to pick up Hannah and see Lex. Mason nods and signs ‘be safe out there.’

‘I will,’ Ethan promises, heading to the door. They open the door to see their Uncle Bill and his daughter Alice about to ring the doorbell. They smile and sign ‘hey Uncle Bill. Hey Alice.’

“‘Hey Ethan,’” Bill says with a smile. “‘Is your dad home?’”

Ethan nods ‘he’s in the living room. And Peter’s in his room.’

Alice smiles and signs ‘thanks’ before running upstairs.

Ethan and Bill laugh before Ethan moves aside so Bill can come in. ‘I gotta run but it’s nice seeing you Uncle Bill!’ Bill nods and tells them to be safe. ‘Both dad and Peter have said that. Bye Uncle Bill!’

“‘Bye Ethan,’” Bill says before heading inside.

Ethan gets in their car and starts driving to the old trailer park to pick up Hannah. They arrive at the trailer part to see Hannah walking out of her mother's trailer. Ethan parks and smiles as Hannah gets inside the car ‘Hey banana.’

Hannah waves and signs ‘no mall. Bad mall. Webby says bad.’

‘The mall isn’t bad Banana,’ Ethan signs before starting to drive to the mall. They start using one hand to sign as they drive ‘Lex is there.’

‘NO!’ Hannah signs. ‘Bad mall!’ Ethan sighs and keeps driving, knowing Hannah will keep complaining and that they can’t do anything about it. 

Ethan parks the jalopy near Toy Zone and turns around signing ‘come on banana, let’s go see Lex.’

‘NO!’ Hannah signs again.

Ethan sighs and gets out of the car signing ‘then stay here. I’m seeing your sister.’ They leave Hannah in the car to see Lex putting a Wiggly doll in her backpack. They smirk and slurs a little loudly “‘Mall security, we got a shoplifter, drop that doll!’” They start trailing off while saying the last part of the sentence which causes Lex to look at them.

“‘Jesus Christ, Ethan,’” Lex signs, walking toward them, “‘you fucking asshole!’” She hits their chest with a smile.

‘Hey, come on, it was just a goof,’ Ethan retorts with a grin.

“‘Where’s my sister?’” Lex asks.

‘Oh no, Hannah?’ Ethan signs, pretending to look alarmed. ‘Is that what you’ve been telling me every day for the past four weeks, to pick up your kid sister?’ Lex rolls her eyes as Ethan hugs her before continuing to sign, ‘Oh, I must’ve forgot because I’m so stupid! She’s right over here,’ they motion to their car, ‘but I gotta warn you, she’s being a little snot today.’ They walk over to their car and starts dragging Hannah out.

Lex sees Ethan dragging her sister and tells them “‘Okay, don’t pull her.’”

‘I’m not,’ Ethan exclaims, saying the t out loud, turning around to find a place to sit, choosing to sit on the stairs near the entrance to Toy Zone.

“Hey, Banana,” Lex says, walking toward her sister and putting her hand on Hannah’s head, “is it a good day or a bad day?”

“‘Bad day,’” Hannah replies, looking down.

“Well, I don’t know who told you that because today is a good day,” Lex tells her sister, taking off her backpack which causes Hannah to look at her. Ethan tries to read their girlfriends lips from where they’re sitting as Lex continues, “You know my backpack, the one with the pins on it? Well, today you get to wear it.”

Lex tries to put the backpack on Hannah as Hannah refuses. ‘See what I mean,’ Ethan signs, getting Lex’s attention, ‘it’s been this all day.’

“Why don’t you wanna wear my backpack?” Lex asks, forcing Ethan to read her lips since she’s annoyed with them. “That makes me sad. Do you think I have a bad backpack?”

“‘I’m not supposed to,’” Hannah tells her sister, signing for Ethan.

Lex kneels down and puts her arm around Hannah’s shoulders, “Who says you’re not supposed to?”

“Webby,” Hannah shrugs.

‘Oh great,’ Ethan exclaims, making a few noises while signing which causes Lex to look at them, ‘now we gotta talk to the imaginary spider from outer space.’

Lex rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to Hannah, asking “What does Webby say?”

“Bad blood, cross, black and white,” Hannah tells Lex while shrugging.

‘Can you translate? I don’t speak crazy,’ Ethan signs, getting up. They also didn’t fully catch what Hannah said either since she wasn’t signing but they were tired from Hannah refusing to go to the mall earlier.

“‘She’s not crazy,’” Lex says, finally signing, ‘“she’s creative.’” She turns to Hannah and snaps a bit “Come on, Hannah, I don’t have all day for this.”

Lex tries to put the backpack on Hannah again as Hannah refuses and pushes it off her. Ethan walks over to Lex, putting their hand on her shoulder and waits for her to look at them before signing ‘let me try.’ Lex gives them room as they sign to Hannah ‘All right, Banana-split.’ They pull out the hat Peter gave them this morning, ‘you see this hat? It was gifted to me by a great warrior-’ They miss Lex laughing ‘-it’s imbued with the power of Grayskull to ward off dark magic, bad blood, backpacks, any fucking thing. Now, I can lend you this hat–just for today–and while it’s on your head, well, nothing can harm you.’

‘Honest?’ Hannah signs.

‘Cross my heart, hope to die,’ Ethan promises. Hannah takes the hat, putting it on, and grabs the backpack, putting it on as well. Ethan turns to Lex signing ‘I’d make a great dad, I’m just saying.’ 

They wrap their arm around Lex as she smiles “‘You’re gonna watch her until I get off at noon, and then we’re out of this fucking town. Is everything good with the buyer?’”

‘Oh yeah, about that, there’s been a little complication,’ Ethan signs, which causes Lex to swear softly. ‘So, originally, we talked about five….Well, word starts to get around, and before I know it, there is a bidding war for this thing. And we got somebody willing to pay seven.’

“‘700 for a doll?’” Lex asks shocked.

Ethan shakes their head with a grin ‘7,000.’

“‘7,000?’” Lex asks, “‘Seven fucking thousand dollars? We’re set! We’re set!’” Lex hugs Ethan tightly, laughing. Ethan smiles and picks her up, spinning her around before setting her back down. Lex turns to Hannah and asks “Hanna, do you know what this means?”

‘California?’Hannah signs.

“Cali-fucking-fornia,” Lex says, holding Hannah’s hands and facing Ethan so they can read her lips. Lex kneels on the floor and rips out a piece of paper from her notebook.

She starts writing the note:  
Dear mom,  
Its been real. Real bad. Id say you did your best, but Im not a liar.

Ethan taps Lex’s shoulder and signs ‘L-I-E-R, babe.’

Lex signs ‘we get it, Ethan, you’re a good speller!’

Lex goes back to the letter, not correcting how she spelled liar:  
Im taking Hannah. As far away as we can get. Id give you an address but I Dont want to. Dont write, dont call, dont ask.  
Sincerly, Lex.  
P.S. Get yourself a new trailer, ‘cause this one is broke as shit.

Lex finishes the note and stands up, Ethan wraps their arms around Lex’s waist as Lex puts her arms around their neck, kissing them. They break apart as Lex remembers she has work. She groans and says sadly, frowning “‘I gotta get back to work.’”

Ethan sighs quietly and turns to Hannah, ‘come on, Banana, let’s go and let your sister work.’

Hannah frowns and hugs Lex, mumbling “bye Lexie….”

Lex hugs her back, saying softly “I’ll see you after my shift ends, Banana.” She lets go of the hug and watches Ethan and Hannah leave before heading inside to start her shift.

✦✧✦✧

Ethan brings Hannah to the Cineplex in the mall to find the teen working there sleeping. Ethan looks at Hannah before coughing loudly. The teen startles awake and says “Hi, welcome to the Lakeside Mall Cineplex. How can I help you?”

Ethan takes out their phone and reluctantly types Can I get two tickets to that new flick…”Santa Claus is Goin’ to High School”?

Ethan looks at Hannah as the teen says “Okay, that’ll be two tickets to ‘Santa Claus is Goin’ to High School,’” Hannah translates, “that’ll be 27.50.”

Ethan quickly faces the teen and types what? Are you kidding me? 30 bucks for two tickets? That’s...look… Ethan grabs the money from their pocket and puts it in the teens hand before finishing typing I’ll give you $15, that’s as high as I’ll go!

“Uh, sir, okay, this is not the type of place where you can haggle, sir,” the teen tells them, going through the money before pulling it down on the counter. “Like, I don’t set the prices, okay, I’m just a high school kid.”

Ethan types well, yeah, well, I’m gonna find you at school, cram you into a locker, and fart in it! They grab the teen by his collar threateningly.

“Oh no, not the Easy-Bake-Oven!” The teen exclaims, scared. Ethan nods and glares at the teen.

“Hey,” a security guard says. Hannah pulls on Ethan’s sleeve to get their attention before nodding towards the guard. “What’s going on here?”

Ethan puts the teen down and wraps an arm around him and typing with their other arm Nothin’, I’m just asking a question.

Ethan lets go of the teen as the guard asks “Don’t I know your face? Ain’t you been told not to hang around this mall?”

I’m just takin’ the kid to see the Santa movie Ethan explains, wrapping an arm around Hannah.

The guard grabs Ethan, “Yeah, you’re coming with me.” The guards radio goes off and he starts talking to the person on the other side. Ethan looks at him, reading his lips. The guard lets go of Ethan with an “ah, shit,” before turning around and heading to Toy Zone, saying “You kids get outta here!” Hannah translates for Ethan when they look at her.

Hannah sits down on a bench outside of Cineplex muttering “Don’t do it. Two doors, not one.”

Ethan walks over to Hannah, sitting next to her ‘I’m sorry, Hannah, I thought I could get us in. I would’ve shelled out for the tickets….I’m a little low on funds at the moment. I thought my old jalopy wasn’t gonna make it all the way to California, so I sunk a grand into it. Look, don’t tell your sister I got no dough, She’ll lose respect for me.’ They look at Hannah–who’s staring at the ground blankly. They tap her shoulder, which causes her to jump, and signs ‘Hey, what’s shaking, Banana, you okay?’

Hannah shakes her head and signs ‘bad place. Black and White.’

Ethan sighs ‘look, I know you’re nervous to leave home. But you gotta trust me, it’s gonna be so much better once you’re out of there. And hey, maybe once you’re gone, maybe then your mom will realize, “hey, I gotta do better.” Do you trust your sister, Hannah?’ Hannah nods. “And do you believe no matter how bad it looks right now, things will get better.’

Hannah shakes her head, ‘not better. Badder, much badder.’

‘Hey, what’s with that grammar?’ Ethan asks. ‘Even I know it’s more badder.’ There’s noises coming from down the hall and Hannah jumps, not expecting the noise and looks toward where the noise is coming from. Ethan follows her gaze, confused until they feel the vibrations of the people. ‘What the hell is that?’ They stand up and start walking toward the people. ‘I think we better split, Banana.’ Hannah nods and takes Ethans hand, dragging them away from the crowd.

Ethan runs as fast as they can, picking Hannah up–ignoring that she’s 13–to get away faster. They keep running until they’re outside. They head to the jalopy and finally sets Hannah down, sighing. Hannah frowns and tugs at Ethans jacket. Ethan looks at her and Hannah signs ‘Lex’s still in there.’

‘Shit,’ Ethan signs, quickly taking their phone out and texting Lex get out as soon as you can! They turn to Hannah and hands her the keys to the jalopy, ‘I’m gonna go back in there and look for Lex. You get in the old jalopy and lock the doors. Don’t let anyone in unless it’s me or Lex.’

Hannah takes the keys before slowly taking the backpack off and opening it. She gasps when she sees what’s in it. She pulls it out and throws it far away from the jalopy and tells Ethan ‘Bad. Won’t help.’

‘That doll?’ Ethan asks confused. Hannah nods and Ethan sighs ‘okay. Get in the car Banana-Split.’

Hannah hugs them before getting in the car, ‘get back safe.’

‘I will. And so will Lex,’ Ethan reassures. Ethan quickly runs back into the mall, grabbing the doll as they pass just in case they needed a distraction, and goes toward Toy Zone. They hide behind a shelf when they see some of Linda Monroe’s worshippers. They sneak around the store looking for Lex, finding her as soon as Becky Barnes shoots Linda. The gun is loud enough that Ethan can faintly hear it with their hearing aids on. Ethan flinches at the sound, even though it didn’t even sound anything close to being loud to them, they weren’t expecting it. They accidently hit the shelf they were hiding behind.

Luckily, the only one that heard Ethan hit the shelf was Lex, who looks up and gasps quietly. She sees the doll in her partners hand and subtly motions to Ethan to pass her the doll. They get what she’s trying to say and slides the doll to her. Lex stands up once Gary Goldstien carries Linda’s body away and announces “You have two choices, abandon your god or burn here with him.” She takes out a lighter that she had in her pocket and burns the Wiggly doll. Almost all of Linda’s supporters run toward the doll while others–like Charlotte and Ethan’s mom–run out of the mall so they don’t burn. Tom and Becky run out as well, with Lex following after grabbing Ethan’s hand.

Once everyone is outside, Lex hugs Ethan tightly ‘we’re safe.’

Ethan nods and hugs her back ‘Hannah’s in the car.’

Lex quickly lets go of the hug and runs to the car to get Hannah as Ethan takes out their phone and texts Peter We’re coming back soon.

Beck and Charlotte walk over to Ethan as Ethan puts their phone away, ‘mom, aunt Charlotte.’

“‘Hey angel,’” Beck says softly before hugging them. Ethan hugs them back and sniffs, trying to hold back tears. “‘Let’s head back home, okay?’”

Ethan nods and signs ‘Lex and Hannah are in my car.’

“‘Bring the girls home and I’ll bring Charlotte back with me. We drove here together,’” Beck says.

Ethan nods again and hugs Charlotte before heading to their jalopy. Lex unlocks the door when Ethan walks up. “‘You okay, love?’”

‘Let’s head home,’ Ethan says, ignoring the question. ‘Mom and Aunt Charlotte are going back in mom's car.’

“‘Want me to drive?’” Lex asks to which Ethan shrugs. Lex sighs and moves to the driver's seat, making sure Ethan is in their seat before starting to drive back quietly.

As soon as they got back to Ethan’s house, all three get out of the car to see not only Ethan’s family and Bill, Charlotte, and Alice but also Paul Matthews, Emma Perkins, Becky, Tom and his son Tim Houston, Henry Hidgens, and Ted Foster. “Dads,” Lex says, running to Ted and Henry, hugging them tightly. Hannah follows her sister and joins the hug.

Peter sees Ethan and quickly walks over to them, “‘hey bubba.’”

‘Hey…’ Ethan signs.

Peter sighs and hugs his sibling, writing into their back ‘I’m here.’ Ethan whimpers and Peter takes that as a sign to bring them upstairs. He turns to his parents, who nod saying that the siblings can hide upstairs. Peter brings Ethan upstairs and into their room. He sits both of them down and right away, Ethan breaks down crying.

“‘t-t’ought I wasn’ gon’ make it,’” Ethan sobs. “‘T’ought one o’ us gon’ d-die.’” Peter sighs and holds them close. He gently takes Ethan’s hearing aids out when he sees them struggling before rubbing their back. They hum softly and lets Ethan feel his chest vibrate to calm them down. Feeling the vibrations from Peter’s humming always somehow calmed Ethan down. Ethan slowly calms down the more Peter hums, eventually falling asleep. Peter smiles sadly and kisses Ethan’s head, drifting off the sleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept teasing that this was gonna end badly to two of my friends. Then I decided to be nice :) Also my own Wiggly was next to me the whole time I was writing this.


	4. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan has always been scared of storms. One night, 9 year old Ethan woke up and saw a storm happening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ethan hasn’t come out yet so if E is mentioned with he/him pronouns that’s why. Short chapter ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

It was 3 in the morning when 9 year old Ethan woke up. They whimper, shaking as they curl up in a ball. A flash of light comes through their window which leaves a shadow on a tree, making it seem like a monster in little Ethan’s eyes. Ethan whimpers again and scrambles out of bed, running out of their room to their brothers room–tripping over their feet a few times. Ethan sees another flash of light from the bathroom window, illuminating another tree. Ethan yelps and throws open Peter's door, crawling under his blankets.

10 year old Peter groans, waking up. He looks at his sibling and rubs his back. Ethan flinches and whimpers again. Peter sighs and removes his hand from Ethan’s back. Peter lays back down and somewhat curls into his sibling, starting to drift off to sleep again. Ethan yelps again as the lightning lights up the room. With Ethan yelping and the storm outside, Peter wakes up again and hums softly. He curls up next to his younger sibling even more as he keeps humming, hoping Ethan can feel him humming. Ethan does and finally calms down a little, whimpering “Pe’er.”

‘I’m here bubba,’ Peter writes into Ethans back. Ethan hugs Peter tightly and garbles some words in Peter’s chest. Peter shifts uncomfortably and writes into Ethans back ‘what?’

Ethan looks up and signs shakily ‘storm.’ They flinch as another flash of light illuminates the room, hiding their face in Peter's chest again. Peter keeps humming as he plays with Ethans hair. Ethan mumbles and writes on Peters arm “‘‘M sorry.’”

Peter taps Ethan’s arm and waits for Ethan to look at him before signing ‘you have nothing to be sorry for bubba.’ Ethan hides their face in Peter’s chest again as the storm gets worse. They mumble instinctively as they shake. Peter sighs and starts humming an actual song he knows Ethan loves, “We Are The Champions” by Queen.

Ethan looks up and smiles softly at their brother, pressing the ‘I love you’ sign into his arm.

Peter smiles back and carefully sits up, keeping Ethan pressed against his side, and turns his light on. Ethan covers their eyes, not expecting the light. ‘Sorry bubba,’ Peter signs once Ethan uncovers their eyes. ‘Thought you’d actually want to be able to see me signing.’

Ethan nods and curls up next to their brother asking ‘what time is it?’

Peter looks at his clock that’s on the wall and replies ‘3:30.’

Ethan bites their lip and runs a hand through their hair before signing ‘sorry.’

Peter shifts a bit so he’s right in front of his sibling ‘you have nothing to be sorry for, E.’ Ethan flinches as they see lightning again. ‘Want me to put my blinds down? I’ll leave my light on.’

Ethan nods ‘please?’

Peter smiles and stands up, shutting the blinds and going back to the bed with his sibling, ‘that better?’ Ethan nods, making a small happy noise. Peter smiles at the sound and hugs Ethan, yawning.

‘Tired?’ Ethan asks.

‘A little,’ Peter admits before quickly adding ‘it’s not your fault though.’

‘But I was the one who woke you up,’ Ethan signs with a frown.

Peter sighs and signs ‘Ethan. You're my brother and you can wake me up whenever you need to, okay?’

‘Okay…’ Ethan signs, biting their lip.

Peter brings Ethan close to him and kisses their head, pressing the ‘I love you’ sign into their back. Ethan sighs softly and curls up into their brothers side again, starting to fall asleep. Peter starts humming softly again, watching as his sibling falls asleep before falling asleep himself.

The next morning, Ethan woke up in Peter’s bed alone. They scramble out of Peter’s bed to go look for him before seeing the blinds open again and the storm still going on outside. They whimper and jump back onto Peter’s bed, hiding under the covers.

Peter comes back into his room a few minutes after Ethan hid under the blankets, coming back from talking to his mom about canceling his plans with Alice–his reasoning was that he didn’t want to make his parents drive him with the heavy rain and wind–to see Ethan under the blankets. He shuts the blinds again and moves toward the bed, tapping the edge once he’s next to his nightstand. Ethan doesn’t respond to the tap so instead Peter sits on the bed and presses his hand into the bed so there’s an indent next to where Ethan is curled up.

Ethan slowly picks their head up and peaks out of the blanket. ‘Hey bubba,’ Peter signs with a small smile.

“‘Pe’er!’” Ethan exclaims, rather loudly which causes Peter to flinch and tell them that they’re too loud. “‘Sorry,’” Ethan says, much quieter this time before switching to just signing ‘where’d you go?’

“‘Had to talk to mom,’” Peter replies. “‘I was gonna hang out with Alice today but it’s really bad out there. That’s why the blinds were open. Sorry for leaving them open E.’”

Ethan looks at the closed blinds before turning back to their brother ‘it’s okay.’ They hug their brother tightly before their stomach growls.

“‘Hungry?’” Peter asks.

Ethan nods as they sign a c with their right hand, placing that hand on their chest and moving it down to the middle of their chest, ‘really hungry.’

“‘Let’s go get you food then,’” Peter says, standing up. Ethan quickly stands up, and starts running out of Peter’s room. Peter laughs and runs after them down the stairs. Peter catches Ethan by the doors to the living room and kitchen causing Ethan to squeal. Peter laughs again, signing ‘got you.’ Ethan pouts and crosses their arms.

“‘There’s my beautiful boys!’” Beck says when the siblings come into the kitchen.

“‘Hi mom!’” Peter replies with a grin.

Ethan bites their lip before faking a smile and waving.

“‘Your dad’s in the dining room if you two want to wait in there while I finish cooking breakfast,’” Beck tells her kids.

Ethan nods and heads to the dining room, smiling at their dad. “‘Hey boys,’” Mason says. Ethan’s smile drops and turns around, seeing that Peter followed them out. Mason waits until Ethan is looking at him again before asking “‘how’d you sleep?’”

Peter sat down before replying “‘E came in.’”

Mason turns to Ethan, “‘how come bud?’”

Ethan frowns and slurs “‘s’orm.’” They look past their dad and out the window, seeing the storm again and whimpers softly.

Mason looks out the window that’s behind him and sighs “‘it’s okay bud. You’re okay in here.’”

Ethan nods and sits down at the table, facing away from the windows and smiles softly when their mom comes in with breakfast. ‘Thanks mom,’ they sign.

“‘You’re welcome honey,’” Beck smiles. “‘How about movies after breakfast?’”

Ethan nods with a smile, ‘Brave?’

“‘Anything you want to watch,’” Beck replies.

Ethan grins and quickly finishes their breakfast, waiting impatiently for the rest of their family to finish breakfast.

Throughout the day, Beck, Mason, and Peter kept distracting Ethan from the storm outside by watching movies and playing games. The storm soon ended but Ethan didn’t notice, too busy having fun with their family.


End file.
